WHERE THEY ARE NOW: Blind Justice

You may know him as the voice of Que Pasa 99.5 morning show but he didn't get the name ‘Rock ‘n Roll James' for playing Tejano music. James Echavarria was born a metalhead and his repertoire can prove it. He led the band heavy metal band Blind Illusion back in the late 80s which dabbled in everything from Black Sabbath to Judas Priest. Echavarria was respected among the rock scene for his ability to wail on the mic. When Blind Justice was born younger musicians jumped at the opportunity to get their feet wet on stage. "We were the first band to have bands open up for us," the singer-turned radio host said. "After that now you see at all the time."

Other highlights include the night the band opened up for Quiet Riot in 1993, but had a gig to get to at what was then known as The Attic at Club X. Turns out they enjoyed themselves a little too much at the Quiet Riot show (thanks to a bottle of Jack Daniels) and were paying for it the rest of the night. Good times.

But it was tough, with James as a morning dj, on the air at 6 a.m. burning the candle at both ends, he says. On his way to see AC/DC james suffered from an attack of Bell's Palsey which forced him to put a lot of things on the table and re-evaluate his priorities.

Blind Justice (Also known as Blind Illusion)

• Members: Rock ‘n Roll James (vocals), (guitar) Richard Reyes, (drums) Adam Garcia, (bass) Stony Granpham
• Started/Ended: 1988 (BI) Blind Justice in 1990 - 1995
• Hometown: McAllen/Edinburg
• Favorite venue: The Attic at Club X
• Memorable moment: Playing at Club X and the fans broke the sprinkler system and the entire room started to flood. It was a river of water. The roof had collapsed onto the bottom cash register. "Even though all that happened he asked us when our next opening was."
• How has the rock scene changed? It's gotten all original, not many bands doing covers from what I see. The music has changed a bit, a lot of fusion going on. I've rarely been out checking out other bands because of my job.
• What you miss most about playing with the band: Getting the crowd all fired up and just going balls to the wall.